Skip to content
Auditorium with sign.

Mental Health and The Practice of Law

Consulting and Speaking

          Background. If you have reached down this far, you know what an internet search knows – following a suicide attempt in 2012, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder (thus, previously undiagnosed).  Had to take a couple years off for doing some things I shouldn’t have done before being diagnosed, and of course to get “better.”  When I came back, I devoted (and still devote) a significant amount of time to assisting attorneys who may be dealing with the same sort of issues I have dealt (and continue to deal) with.

          What I can do for you.  I can talk to your firm or department about being an attorney with a mental health issue.  I can speak to a crowd. I can consult with individuals or small groups.  I can help you consider and implement risk management techniques.  What I won’t do are use words like “wellness.”  What I won’t do is fear-monger with weak statistics which imply the legal profession is in a descent to madness.  Plenty of people are doing those things already and I’m decidedly not one of them.

          Why you want me to do this for you.  The overwhelming reason is that I’m pretty much the only person offering these services that can speak from experience. But let’s put some meat on it.  But don’t take my word for it.  Here’s who has invited me to speak (that is, I did not solicit these appearances).  If you see a link, it’s live.  I’ve attached them where they exist, either as to content or information.

  • I have spoken for the following judicial audiences
    • Georgia Chief Justice’s Commission on Professionalism:  I had the honor of participating in a panel presentation produced by the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court on the all-too-prevalent issue of attorney suicide. The program, hosted by former Attorney General Sally Yates, was attended by over 1,500 attorneys and others. 
    • Georgia Council of State Court Judges
    • Georgia Council of Probate Court Judges
    • Georgia Local (e.g. Magistrate) Judges
    • Georgia Judicial Clerk’s Conference
  • State Bar of Georgia.  As a result of State Bar of Georgia General Counsel Paula Frederick identifying Eric Lang’s research as being unique in the area of attorney mental health and the discipline process, Eric was invited as a guest on the Bar’s Lawyers Living Well podcast.  You can hear about that subject and others by checking out the podcast itself.
  • Subject Matter Bar Associations
    • Criminal Defense
    • Real Estate
    • Social Security
  • Local Bar Associations
    • Atlanta Lawyer’s Club
    • Cherokee County
    • Clayton County
    • Dekalb County
    • Forsyth County
    • Tift County
    • Muscogee County (Columbus)
  • Law Schools (Mercer University)
    • Speaker, Mercer Law Review 75th Anniversary Symposium.
    • Guest, Prof. Longan’s “Practice of Law” Series, past 4 years.
    • Professionalism Orientation, also four years.
  • Podcasts and Online CLE

          It’s not just talking.  My words are backed by research and writing.  Again, these items are (with the exception of one self-publication) by invitation, not solicitation:

  • I have a well developed philosophy on these issues – no fear, just honesty.  Going Beyond Fear in Addressing Attorney Mental Health culminates a year-long effort to change the well-intentioned (and partially successful) “one size fits all” approach that the legal profession has taken to address mental health issues.  The article urges three things: (a) focusing on things we can change as opposed to things we cannot; (b) drawing lines between appropriate and inappropriate areas of institutional involvement; and (c) distinguishing between the 80 percent of population who do not have potential mental illness issues and the 20 percent who do.  The most novel or even controversial sections of the article reject current conventional wisdom on suicide and depression statistics in the profession.  It is the only article on David Foster Wallace, Pete Davidson, Bill James, the Book of Exodus, a Rolling Stone review of a Supertramp Album, and a Petula Clark song that is not “Downtown.”
  • I go beyond the technical to the personal. The American Bar Association’s Woman Advocate Committee recently published Her Story (2): The Resilient Woman Lawyer’s Guide to Conquering Obstacles, a wide ranging collection of essays on the challenges of being a woman practicing law.  Eric Lang was asked to contribute an essay on suicide. Why?  The lead editor explained:  The book contains essays from women lawyers from various backgrounds but also includes a few essays from male lawyers. What was the thinking behind that?  “In some cases, it was because we had a lack of authors on the subject. We tried to get women, for example, on the subject of suicide. It turns out the person who could write the essay for us was a guy, and we thought that was fine.” To read this and other excellent essays, purchase the book on the ABA website.
  • I follow, and write about, the ethics rules on these issues.  Mental Heath and the Attorney Discipline Process in the State of Georgia catalogues cases in which lawyers with mental health issues face discipline.
  • My opinions on the issue are sought and “printed” by the leading national legal publishers.  Going Beyond Fear is the Next Phase in Addressing Attorney Mental Health, Fulton County Daily Report (ALM); ‘Shame on Us’: Lawyer Hits Hard After Judge’s Suicide; Fulton County Daily Report (ALM).

Bottom Line.  If you want to address this sensitive issue in your firm or department without a lot of consultant-driven buzzwords, and instead want to hear a first hand account, reach out to me.